After a holdout that never really happened, LT Taylor Lewan was finally awarded the extension he was looking for by the Titans.
Over the course of the summer, there wasn’t much news coming out regarding the Tennessee Titans. And while most of the topics that were being discussed revolved around the new coaching staff, the most important piece of business in regards to the current crop of Titans players was the contract situation of LT Taylor Lewan.
Lewan had made it clear for a while that he was expecting a new, shiny contract extension that would make him among the highest-paid tackles in the league. Heading into the final year of his deal and with the Titans flush with cap space, a deal was inevitable. Many expected Lewan to holdout of training camp, but he showed up for the first practice yesterday, and on Friday morning, he was rewarded.
Titans giving OT Taylor Lewan a 5-year, $80 million extension that includes $50 million guaranteed, source tells ESPN. Richest OL deal in NFL history.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 27, 2018
While the phrase “richest OL in NFL history” might seem staggering, it really isn’t. Lewan’s $16M per year salary is just $0.5M higher than New York Giants LT Nate Solder, who sort of reset the tackle market earlier this offseason.
The high contract total also doesn’t seem hefty when you consider that Lewan has made the Pro Bowl in each of the past two years, is only 27 years old and in the prime of his career, and has become an icon in the city of Nashville.
Back in 2014, the Lewan selection with the 11th overall pick in the draft seemed safe. After his first two seasons, both of which were relatively inconsistent and featured some questionable antics, many Titans fans weren’t sure if Lewan was the future at left tackle. With those same antics in the past and consistency and dominance the theme of Lewan’s career over the past two seasons, the Titans needed to secure their franchise left tackle. Today, they did that for the next half-decade.